BRIDGE DETOUR EXTENDED TWO MORE WEEKS

Defeces in the walls of the borough's flood control channel have put the brakes on work at the Franklin Bridge in Coudersport. The news isn't being taken well by local business, which are suffering as a result of the change in Route 6 traffic flow.

Replacement of the Specialist Mike Franklin Bridge in Coudersport has stalled for at least two weeks as the result of serious defects found in the walls of the borough's 53-year-old flood control channel.

The news is far from welcomed by downtown business owners who have endured many weeks of slow traffic since the bridge project started and traffic was detoured around Main and Second streets.

The new estimated completion date for the bridge work is mid-September.

Coudersport Borough Council approved an agreement Wednesday declaring the situation as an emergency as a result of "serious defects in the sloping concrete walls of the flood control channel," a situation that requires fast action on several agencies' parts.

Council is expediting the $93,070 project to complete it before construction on the new bridge begins.

With the bridge in place, Solicitor Dan Glassmire said, the project would probably cost more than $180,000.

Two state agencies and contractor A.L. Blades and Sons, as well as several Council members made, have intervened to have the work completed rapidly. Pa. Dept. of Environmental Protection approved an emergency grant to cover the entire cost, while Blades quoted the work at a flat amount.

PennDOT approved Blades as the contractor due to the company's track record.

"When the bridge was removed, you could tell where the salt, chemicals and rust had dripped off the bridge," Glassmire explained.

That was where the integrity of the channel was compromised.

Without the work, those walls could crumble during times of high water and cause a breech in the flood control system.

Manager Marlin Moore said that there are no problems with channel walls below the Seventh and Fourth street bridges, which are slated for work next year.

In other business, Council members continued their ongoing debate on what to use to resurface the roads. Several council members had looked at a slurry coat that was used in Shinglehouse and was up for consideration.

Councilman Wayne Hathaway said he observed patches where town officials said snowplows had scraped off the one-quarter-inch tar coating as well as other scrapes and cracks.

He pointed out that the slurry had to be repaired immediately after it was damaged or else the coating would peel off in that area.

Moore recommended the use of ":microsurfacing," a mixture similar to blacktop that is applied cold and rolled in.

Hathaway explained that the slurry is a preventative maintenance mixture for new surfaces and would not work on older roads, while microsurfacing could be used on rough surfaces. He advised against the slurry option.

Wages of the lifeguards at the Coudersport Community Swimming Pool won't be increasing this summer, although the cost of learning to swim will.

Council voted to increase lessons from $15 to $25 for children in the Coudersport Area School District, and from $25 to $35 for children living outside the district.

Family memberships and daily rates will not be increased.

Council also heard that the Coudersport Area Lions Club volunteers will be planting flowers or shrubs along the entrances to the new footbridge connecting the Coudersport Mobile Home Park with Coudersport Area Recreation Park.